Sharpe played 12 Tests in the 1960s, notably few given his average of 46.23, and was a member of seven county championship-winning teams at Yorkshire.

He played for Yorkshire between 1958 and 1974, joined Derbyshire for two seasons and made a swansong at the age of 47 when he captained Norfolk in a NatWest Trophy tie at Leicester, in which he was lbw to Les Taylor for a duck before a young David Gower hit an unbeaten half-century. He finished playing for Norfolk in 1982.

It is for his reputation as one of the greatest slip fielders of all time that he will perhaps be best remembered.

In that position, Sharpe took more than 600 catches in his 20-year career - many of them breath-takingly brilliant - and he also made in excess of 22,000 first-class runs.

Yorkshire president Dickie Bird, a contemporary of Sharpe’s as a player, said: “I grew up with Philip in the nets at Yorkshire.

“He was one of the best slip fielders I ever saw. Philip was a true gentleman, and he will be a sad loss to Yorkshire Cricket.”